1. Technical Field
The present invention generally pertains to motor vehicles. More particular, the present invention pertains to an intercooler arrangement for a turbocharged motor vehicle engine.
2. Discussion
The term "supercharging" refers to increasing the air or air/fuel mixture density of a motor vehicle engine by increasing its pressure prior to entering the engine cylinder. One method of increasing the pressure is by mechanical supercharging where a separate pump, blower or compressor provides the compressed air. The pump, blower or compressor is usually driven by power taken from the engine. A second method of increasing the pressure is turbocharging, where a turbocharger is used to boost inlet air or air/fuel mixture density. The turbocharger typically consists of a compressor and turbine on a single shaft. Energy available in the engine's exhaust stream is used to drive the turbocharger turbine which in turn drives the turbocharger compressor to raise the inlet fluid density prior to entry to the engine cylinders.
The power developed by an internal combustion engine is largely dependent on the amount of combustible mixture reaching the cylinders. The design of manifolds, carburetors, fuel injectors, the size of valves and the size of valve ports are all important factors in determining the amount of this mixture. To overcome friction losses in the intake system and to aid in scavengering the cylinders of burned gases, supercharging can be used to force the combustible mixture into the cylinders.
Compressed air forced into a cylinder is pressurized. Since pressure is directly related to heat, this increase in pressure functions to heat the air. It is desirable to cool down this compressed air before it is introduced into the intake manifold. The cool compressed air is packed tighter together in the cylinder than if it had not been cooled. As a result, more power is created when this air-fuel mixture explodes. This function is frequently accomplished with an intercooler.
While known intercooler arrangements have proven to be effective in cooling compressed air delivered to an engine cylinder, they nevertheless can be subject of certain improvements. In this regard, conventional intercooler arrangements are often larger structures which cause packaging concerns. Thus, it would be advantageous to provide an intercooler arrangement, including a core and core housing of compact construction which reduces packaging concerns.